Hush puppy
Posted on 06/16/2015 8:44:30 AM PDT by Rebelbase
If you're eating a fried catfish or shrimp dinner at a seafood restaurant in the South (or, increasingly, anywhere else in the country), odds are it will be accompanied by the golden brown nuggets known as hushpuppies. Made from a thick cornmeal batter, they're dropped in balls, fingers, or even long squiggly strands into a deep fryer and cooked till crisp on the outside and soft and chewy in the middle. They're delicious, they're iconic, and no one seems to have a clue where they came from.
Which isn't to say that people haven't tried to explain the origin of hushpuppies. Plenty have. The problem is that no one has really tried hard enough. Hushpuppy Origin Myths: A Catalogue
Here's a quick rundown of the various versions of the hushpuppy origin story that now permeate books, magazines, and the Sargasso Sea of knowledge that is the Internet:
I was hoping this was about the shoes. (Are they still around?)
You have done the country and FR an incredible service by posting this. Keep up the good work.
(I saw it this morning on Serious Eats, also.)
Uh, do you realize you’ve been banned? For posting about hushpuppies? Man, the mod’s are getting strict.
Hush puppy
Dumb.
The story of the shoes is mentioned towards the end of the article.
There is a restaurant here in Savannah that gives hushpuppies instead of bread. They must actually be donut holes in disguise! They come with honeybutter and are very addictive.
They supposedly have great food, but, after the hushpuppies, who cares!
Ok, the food is excellent, or, at least was, the last time I ate there.
Why does the author think that a black woman cooking hushpuppies is a racial stereotype? Black people don’t cook or eat?
Yes! They’re still manufactured by Wolverine World Wide in Rockford, Michigan.
There is a restaurant here in Savannah that gives hushpuppies instead of bread. They must actually be donut holes in disguise! They come with honeybutter and are very addictive.
They supposedly have great food, but, after the hushpuppies, who cares!
Ok, the food is excellent, or, at least was, the last time I ate there.
I don’t think those are Hush Puppies. Those are Clark’s.
“And what about those famous hushpuppy shoes? Yes, they were actually named for the Southern fish fry side dish. After World War II, the Wolverine Shoe and Tanning Corporation developed a new method for making brushed pigskin, which they used to make a casual men’s shoe with a soft rubber-crepe sole. According to the company’s history, one of its salesmen was dining on fried catfish and hushpuppies on a sales trip down South and was told the (supposed) story of the fried fritter’s origin. He thought it the perfect name for a casual shoe, which would “quiet your barking dogs.” Released in 1957, Hush Puppies were America’s first non-athletic casual shoes, and by 1963 one in ten Americans were said to own a pair.”
Those are known as chukka boots in the UK, where Clark’s is based
"In 1948, an entrepreneur named Walter Thompson from the tiny coastal town of Swansboro, North Carolina, decided to take hushpuppies nationwide. He concocted a ready-mix blend of cornmeal, flour, and seasoning, packaged it in pasteboard tubes, and branded it Thompson's Fireside Hushpuppy Mix. "Just add water," the label promised. "A delightfully different Southern hot bread." It sold for 30 cents a can."
My grandmother lived in Bogue, NC (a few miles up the road from Swansboro, NC) and worked for Walter Thompson for several years during this time. Until she died in 2002 at the age of 96, she would brag about being the one who created his recipe. None of us gave it much credence.
In the south to have fish, Brunswick stew or pork bar-b-q without hush puppies simply isn’t done. I think it may even be a law.
The first rule of Hush Puppies Club is to ....... Hush up.
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